Israeli Police Arrest More Than 70 Antiwar Protesters Amid Nationwide Unrest

Israeli police arrested more than 70 antiwar protesters across the country as mass demonstrations erupted for the sixth consecutive weekend.

Over a thousand gathered at Tel Aviv's Habima Square despite IDF limits on public gatherings.

Al Jazeera

The Times of Israel described the protests as the largest since the start of the war with Iran.

Fifteen Knesset members from multiple parties joined the protests.

EuroPalestine detailed police violent repression, including beatings and strangulation.

The protests unfolded amid intensified violence in the West Bank, where Israeli settler attacks triggered evacuations of multiple Palestinian villages.

Thirty-eight houses and businesses were torched by settler mobs in coordinated attacks described as the worst such incident in years.

EuroPalestine

The UN's Special Coordinator warned the Israeli government's policies were strategically facilitating settler violence.

The proximate catalyst was an Israeli Supreme Court decision allowing evacuations despite a 2018 law limiting forced displacements.

The protests took place as Israel's High Court was adjudicating petitions challenging the expanded war effort.

“Gift this articleShare to FacebookPrint article Article printing is available to subscribers only Print in a simple, ad-free format Subscribe Comments: SaveZen Reading Zen reading is available to subscribers only Ad-free and in a comfortable reading format Subscribe Yair Foldes, Josh Breiner, Adi Hashmonai, Bar Peleg, Eden Solomon and Linda Dayan April 04, 2026Updated:10:58 PM IDT Around a thousand protesters gathered in Tel Aviv's Habima Square and hundreds gathered in several locations across the country on Saturday to protest Israel's ongoing war in Iran, despite the IDF limiting gatherings in public areas to 150 people, after Israel's High Court of Justice said the state must allow demonstrations in which at least 600 people participate”

Haaretz

The war had killed an estimated 350 Iranians by early April, including at least 153 children at a girls school in Minab.

Iran had threatened to attack agents rather than territory.

US-Israeli forces maintained a no-fly zone over Iran.

The Atlantic Council cautioned it was a high-risk gamble with unclear objectives.